New Ziost
"Ziost. Home of everything evil and unnatural." -Luke Skywalker describing New Ziost. New Ziost is the throneworld of the Sith Order and its allies, the Dark Brotherhood. Ziost was the former Vullarian world of Mirosis, before is destruction during the Vullarian War. History As Mirosis Mirosis was the only Vullarian planet to host ground battles. During the war, KCA troops under Generals BMD and Cid Highwind invaded the Vullarian world and attempted to relinquish it from Vullarian control. However, they were met by heavy Vullarian resistance. The many battles claimed thousands of lives for both factions, causing the war to settle into a stalemate that prompted BMD into using his Nova-Class Devastators. Mirosis was a rocky and barren planet. Before it was invaded by the KCA, it served as the training ground for the Vullarian race. In fact, much of the Vullarian military originated from Mirosis, therefore, most of them were stationed there when the KCA invaded. Since Intelligence on Vullarian activities were rare, the KCA had no idea that they were facing the most heavily defended planet in Vullarian space. Yet, when word of the Devastators reached the Vullarian high command, a large bulk of the Vullarian forces were pulled back to Kirosis, the Vullarian homeworld. Unfortunately for them, it made little difference. Destruction and the Terraforming Project BMD launched the Nova bombs to all three Vullarian worlds, bringing the long conflict to a swift and bloody end. When he was deemed a criminal in KCA space, BMD and his loyal forces hid among the asteroids beyond Vullarian space. When it was clear, he had dispatched multiple scientists to Mirosis and the other dead worlds. The Terraforming projects began immediately, for BMD had hoped to consolidate the Empire as quickly as possible. As a reward to his most loyal subjects, the Sith, BMD granted them the planet to establish as the centerpoint for their Order. Darth Sidious was the official Dark Lord of the Sith, but they owed their loyalty to BMD, graciously accepting the gift and pledging their loyalty to the Empire as well. After several months of Terraforming, the planet was well prepared to be used by the Sith. They built a citadel and temple, allowing them to train a new generation of Sith. Unlike their Jedi counterparts, the Sith remained on their homeworld, and did not venture beyond to recruit. All new Sith acolytes were Imperial. A short time later, a group of disgruntled magi formed The Dark Brotherhood. They were all a part of the esteemed Circle of Mages, but felt that forbidden magics such as fel-arcane and necromancy should be allowed to flourish. The Brotherhood was led by the Lich Kel'thuzad, but eventually formed a Blood Council to decide the factions overall activities. The Sith allowed them to settle on New Ziost, because their ultimate goals for greater powers (by any means) were similar. In addition, as residents of Ziost, they swore oaths to the Elders' Empire, just like the Sith. The Brotherhood's plans and dealings are largely unknown. The Emperor believes that as long as they plan no treachery, they were allowed to survive and thrive. However, he expects the Sith to keep close watch on their neighbors. Sith Civil War Although the Sith had prospered during their time as a part of the Empire, a number of them felt restless, and chafed at the prospect of being at peace with the Jedi. Darth Krayt, one of the more powerful Sith Lords, began pulling support from those who served him during his timeline of the Faraway dimension. He recreated the One-Sith, an Order that was very similar to the already established one, but was free of the Emperor and strove to exterminate the Jedi Order. Krayt was not an outspoken opponent of the Empire or its Emperor, but heavily criticized Darth Sidious' compliance with the Emperor's order of relative peace with the Jedi. He called the Old Order weak and unfit to make their own decisions, stating that the true goal of the Sith was to eliminate all traces of the Light Side, so the Dark Side would prevail. Krayt and his One-Sith effectively cut the Sith Order in half. Both factions went to war with one another, vying to take control of Ziost. The Dark Brotherhood sided with the Old Sith Order, because they felt that the One-Sith was foolishly causing friction with the Empire. Many battles raged all across Ziost with both sides taking heavy losses. Krayt eventually saw the futility of fighting their rivals on Ziost and fled to Argon. There, he and his fleet ravaged the Empire's industrial center, prompting BMD to swiftly respond. The Emperor had stayed out of the Sith's Civil War, seeing it as a problem only they could fix. But when Krayt attacked Argon, they had forced his hand. The Imperial Army easily drove the One-Sith back and off Argon. They fled deeper into the galaxy, eventually finding the Exchange. The War was a heavy cost for both Orders, but the Old Sith were quick to recover. The Empire offered aid to the Sith and their Dark Brotherhood allies, eventually allowing the two to make a full recovery. War with Ramas By the time the War with Ramas began, Ziost braced itself for another attack from Ramas' new allies, the One-Sith. The Black Mirage never set foot near Imperial Core Worlds, thus prompting the Dark Brotherhood to largely stay out of the war. The Sith were still recovering from their Civil War, but they sent an elite vanguard to aid the Empire. Darth Bane, Darth Malak, Lady Lumiya, and Lady Ashanah were the Sith Strike Team that accompanied BMD during his first assault on Char. After the battle, the Sith continued to lend aid to the Imperial forces, participating in many major battles in the Solus system as well as the frontlines of Char. They were also present during the final battle, where Ashanah killed Darth Krayt, dismantling the One-Sith. Ziost was largely unaffected by the war's end, and continued to flourish. Reconstruction Since Ziost was untouched by the last war, it was one of the few planets that continued to grow. Successful terraforming projects allowed Ziost to be shaped into the world both the Dark Brotherhood and the Sith desired it to be. Recently, the Emperor forbade the Sith from expanding beyond Ziost. He wished that the new generation of Sith be of the the "pure blood". The Sith were expected to grow through familial means, thus reducing the chance of rebellions. Some Sith Lords were unhappy with this prospect, but understood that the will of the Emperor was law. The Sith Lady Ashanah was named heir to the Dark Mantle, replacing Darth Sidious as the official leader of the Sith Order. BMD was still the paramount leader, but would defer power to Ashanah once he died. The Dark Brotherhood continued with their own dealings, keeping mostly to themselves. They only had contact with Imperial planets, refraining from dealing with outside entities. This was easily done, considering neighboring Argon had almost everything a faction would need to sustain itself. The Dark Brotherhood prided itself in taking in those who left the Circle of Mages for any number of reasons. They were always happy to give their new members what the Circle could not. This being the case, the Brotherhood had no reason to actively recruit.